CORN WAGES CHEMICAL WARFARE

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BITS AND PIECES

Kernel Send Signal to Wasps: Need help Quick!!

When caterpillars attack corn leaves, corn fights back. First a signal is emitted; then the corn kernels call in a troop of parasitic wasps to surprise attack the caterpillars. Female rescue wasps lay their eggs directly into the enemy caterpillars, and when they hatch, the larvae feast on the caterpillar's insides. As the larvae mature, they crawl out of the caterpillars as wasps and fly away. Mission accomplished.

All right, you buy the part about the wasps, but what is this corn-signaling-for-help nonsense?

According to researchers Ted Turlings, Ph.D., and James Tumlinson, Ph.D., of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Gainesville, Florida, corn emits a distress chemical, or turpenoid, when it senses caterpillar saliva. (Call it the "spit factor.") Wasps then pick up the turpenoid's scent and fly over to save the day.

The two researchers are currently trying to figure out why the corn reacts to the caterpillar's saliva. They are also rearing wasps in the laboratory and "teaching" them to read the corn's distress signal. Turlings and Tumlinson have developed a synthetic blend (similar to the turpenoid) that not only attracts wasps, but also poisons caterpillars and acts as an antibiotic against fungus and bacteria.

Turlings and Tulinson hope that one day farmers will sic 'em on cornfields by the swarm.

Bug-Eatin' Lawn Ornaments

Peacocks aren't just proud, they can be downright arrogant. Perhaps they have the regal appearance to pull it off, but nice garb shouldn't grant the right to cast looks.

So who'd want one for a pet?

According to farmers Debra Buck and Dennis Fett, you might.

The married couple operates the largest peacock farm in the nation, selling over 1,000 peafowl-hatching eggs a year. They believe the peacock is the organic bug control of the '90s. Peafowl will eat the bugs eating your vegetables and the worms eating your apples. They're also easy to care for since they eat the same foods as most poultry (although they should also be given a game-bird food containing 30 percent protein).

If you can see it all now-beautiful lawn ornaments dining on unwanted pests hold up; there are still a few considerations you should mull over. For one thing, peafowl frequently snack on flowers and garden vegetables. Broccoli and cabbage seem to top their list. In fact, Buck and Fett suggest gardeners grow extra vegetables to compensate for the inevitable loss. Peafowl also have a rather strange cry that resembles the sound of someone screaming "help!" : This maybe somewhat disconcerting for you and your family, and down right traumatic for your neighbors.

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